Dance Sling Item Number: 3486/39 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
A dance sling (wichi wichi) consisting of a main braid with tassels at one end and five secondary braids with tassels that are attached to the main braid; all are solid braids. The pattern of diamonds in shades of brown, black, and grey on the solid braids is called “amapolas”, which is the name for a poppy that grows on the banks of rivers. The tassels at the end of the braids follow the same pattern of three small tassels, followed by one big tassel that branches out into smaller braids finished with tassels of their own. The tassels are in varying shades of red, brown, yellow, blue, green, and purple. Opposite to the tassels, the larger braid terminates at a small vestigial cradle worked in the same yarn with a triangular motif. Continuing with the same colours, a small solid braid with a chevron motif extends from the other side of the cradle.
Different types of slings are used for different purposes in the Andes. Some are used for hunting or herding, but another type is used as a dance accessory. In the Cusco region, the type that has a small vestigial cradle and many colourful tassels attached near one end of the braid (in Quechua, called a 'wichi wichi'), is used as a dance sling. Sometimes secondary braids with many tassels are suspended from the main braid, and these are worn across the chest or around the waist, with the tassels mainly hanging below the waist. Another type of dance sling, which incorporates pieces of camelid pelt, is used in the Puno area by men and women in the wiphala dance, a dance that ensures success in hunting.
Purchased by the donor in 1983 in Lima. The donor notes it was probably made and used in the Cuzco area.
Sling handles are usually made as solid braids, a technique that is done by holding the braid in one’s fist and crossing threads from the four quadrants across the crown of the braid. Variations in colour, slant, and sequence in the crossing threads produce a variety of diamond or oblique patterns.